It said: "Mentally, Rosie did not want to die - she wanted to live and live a long and full life. Physically she had run out of options."

He said Rosie did not want publicity to be an issue. "She did what she had to do privately. She did not want to be a campaigner."

"Rosie died in her own time, by her own hand and sadly alone. This is not how she would have chosen to end her life. She insisted on dying in those circumstances, to prevent those who she loved from being legally implicated or liable. She...would be sad to see that she failed despite her sacrifices."

"Regardless of the fact that Rosie had to die in such circumstances, I am still being held criminally responsible for supporting her decision. What kind of system expects you to turn your back on your loved one in such a time of need? Sadly, ours does. This is a problem - one that causes heartache, misery and needless suffering.

"As it stands the system does not safeguard people from becoming victims, but creates victims of caring people. This is not just my problem - it is a community problem. Ultimately it's everyone's problem.

"Charging and bringing before our criminal courts otherwise good and hardworking citizens already dealing with the loss and grief of losing their loved ones is not an answer or a deterrent. Neither is convicting someone and penalising them. Why has supporting someone in constant untreatable pain, who chooses to end it in the only way possible, been deemed criminal? Why is being there for someone who is suffering intolerably worthy of incarceration and stigma?

"I feel that these trying times have been my penance for not being able to save Rosie. Logically, I know I can't work miracles. Emotionally though I feel that I let her down and that I should have found the miracle cure. But no one has for MS, not yet."